appic Page 74 - Sports News, Headlines & Highlights

The Mets Sign Rick Ankiel
This is not the end of one of the stranger careers in baseball history. Jon Heyman reports the Mets have signed Rick Ankiel to a major-league deal, and he'll immediately join the team in St. Louis....

Sergio Garcia Stirs Up The Ghosts And The Water
There's no shame in splashing short of TPC Sawgrass's iconic 17th, as Sergio Garcia did yesterday (twice!). Better players have found the drink in the past, and will in the future. But it's hard to beat Garcia's meltdown for pathos, because of history both ancient and recent....

Seattle's Bid For The Kings Increases, A Week Before The NBA Votes
Chris Hansen, whose bid to buy the Kings and move them to Seattle was thwarted by unanimous vote of the NBA's relocation committee, has upped his offer significantly. He's willing to pay $65 million more for the Maloofs' shares in the Kings, an amount that would put the franchise's valuation at a he...

Dan Shaughnessy Invents Some David Ortiz PED Rumors
David Ortiz is hitting well, and Dan Shaughnessy wrote a stupid, awful column. Stop me if you've heard these ones before....

John McCain Introduces Bill That Would Ban Sports TV Blackouts
We can't speak to the chances of McCain's bill passing. We can only say that we very much want to live in a world where teams that play in publicly funded stadiums are no longer allowed to black out home games that don't sell out....

This Photo Has Four Great Reaction Images
What is it about Caps-Rangers that brings out the best in the rinkside fans? While none of these quite match the unmitigated ecstasy of this kid, I'm still having a hard time picking my favorite of the four....

Ronde Barber Retires
Buccaneers DB Ronde Barber is officially calling it a career, saying "I've had a better run than I ever could've dreamed of having." With the retirements of Barber, Ray Lewis, and Donald Driver, the oldest non-special teamer left in the NFL is Charlie Batch, and if he can't catch on, London Fletcher...

The 49ers' New Home Will Be Named Levi's Stadium
The 49ers just announced a naming rights deal for their new Santa Clara home, opening in 2014. $220 million over 20 years gets you "Levi's Stadium." The CEO of Levi Strauss, at this morning's press conference, actually said "Win one for the zipper." Christ....

Michael Beasley Is Being Investigated For Alleged Sexual Assault
Scottsdale (Ariz.) police have confirmed that they're investigating a sexual assault claim against 24-year-old reclamation project Michael Beasley. The incident reportedly took place on Jan. 13....

Panthers Owner Was At A "Closed" Council Meeting On Stadium Funding
Jerry Richardson has been aggressively seeking taxpayer money to fund upgrades to his 17-year-old stadium, despite leaked documents that show the Panthers are incredibly profitable. Here's another thing Charlotte residents didn't know until today: Richardson was invited to address the city council's...

The Dalai Lama Is A Giant Bandwagoner
Tenzin Gyatso is the 14th Dalai Lama, the latest in a long line of reincarnations of Avalokiteśvara, the bodhisattva embodiment of compassion. He's also an insufferable homer who loves free hats....

Here's A Dog Dressed As A Hot Dog, Eating A Hot Dog
Yesterday was the annual "Bark in the Park" day in Atlanta, the only time—other than when the Reds are in town—when ticketholders must show proof they've been vaccinated against Parvo and Bordetella....

Why A <em>Boston Globe</em> Writer Didn't Vote LeBron James For MVP
Mystery solved. The lone writer who listed Carmelo Anthony first, denying LeBron James the first-ever unanimous MVP, was Gary Washburn of the Boston Globe. And he sounds almost...apologetic?...

Why Did Geno Smith <em>Really</em> Fire His Agents?
Geno Smith fell to the second round of the NFL draft, 39th overall. It wasn't unfathomable, but it was toward the most pessimistic end of the most pessimistic projections. Then, weird stuff happened: Smith fired his agents. His agents went to the media, anonymously claiming that Smith was disappoint...


After Falling To The Second Round, Geno Smith Fires His Agents
Geno Smith thought he deserved to be drafted No. 1 overall. He was drafted 39th. Thanks to the rookie wage scale, that difference is in the millions of dollars. So he's fired his agents....

Jets Release Tim Tebow
Our long National Football League nightmare is over. The Jets have done the inevitable and released Tim Tebow into the wild. When you love something, you have to let it go....


Bayern Demolish Barcelona In A Changing Of The Guard
In the first leg of last night's Champions League semifinal, the world witnessed a coup that was anything but graceful. For Barcelona, it was painful, tragic, vaguely horrifying. It was violent. After five years of undisputed domination, Barça were not allowed to simply fade away, to retire back to ...

The Knicks Smother The Celtics Into A Historically Bad Second Half
This one looked like the last one. The Celtics came out strong in Game 2, as they did in Game 1. Then, at halftime something happened. Maybe New York mixed up its defensive looks, or maybe Boston felt the effects of its thin roster, or maybe they just forgot how to shoot. But the Celtics once again ...